The sixth-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team will take on No. 15 Texas A&M tonight in the first round of the regional finals of the NCAA tournament.
This is the Badgers’ fourth trip to the Sweet 16 in five years and the Aggies’ fourth appearance in six seasons.
UW earned the trip to Palo Alto, Calif., after sweeping UW-Milwaukee and Michigan State in the first and second round of tournament play last weekend in Madison.
The Big Ten champion Badgers (27-3) go into regional competition with a few more accolades: seniors Lizzy Fitzgerald and Sherisa Livingston were recently named to the Midwest All-Region Team.
Livingston became the first Wisconsin four-time selection to the All-Region team, while Fitzgerald makes her second appearance. In just his third season at UW, head coach Pete Waite was named the Midwest Region Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Texas A&M (25-5) comes into the match under similar circumstances. Although earning an at-large bid to the tournament, the Aggies swept their first- and second-round tournament opponents (in-state rivals Texas-Arlington and Texas).
Like Wisconsin, A&M also has a formidable front-line tandem of seniors in OH Michelle Cole and setter Jenna Moscovic. Both were recently named to the All-Central Regional Team.
Moscovic, the most highly decorated setter in Aggie history, is enjoying her third appearance on the All-Regional team. She leads the nation with five triple-doubles and an average of 12.97 assists per game, along with a team-high .348 hitting percentage.
The Aggies are coached by Laurie Corbelli, who in her nine years at A&M has recorded a 15-12 tournament record. Her team consistently ranked first in the nation this season in both assists and kills per game.
UW coach Waite expressed his thoughts about playing the Aggies and about the type of strategy his team might expect to come up against.
“Most everybody sees Sherisa and decides that they’re going to try to key on almost everybody else and just say [Sherisa’s] going to get her kills,” Waite said. “What’s going well for us is that everybody else is scoring well and Lizzy is distributing the ball well. It’s very hard to stop the whole offense.
“I know [A&M] is a very senior-laden team,” Waite continued. “They’ve got four starters that are seniors. Their first off the bench is a defensive specialist who’s a senior and two other juniors. It’s a very strong and veteran team.”
Along with the strong play UW can expect from Livingston and Fitzgerald, they also have a number of other contributing players to their success.
Junior OH Erin Byrd was a key to Wisconsin’s victories last weekend and will look to keep improving on her already amazing breakout season.
Junior OH Amy Hultgren transferred to Madison from Texas this season, and her familiarity with the Aggies will definitely be an advantage to the Badgers.
Senior defensive specialist Sara Urbanek is a consistent force in the Badger back row, along with sophomore Korie Gardner.
Wisconsin was one victory shy of winning the national championship last season. Coach Waite spoke Monday about his team’s chances of returning to the championship game — and this time coming away with a win.
“I think the excitability factor is actually down. They’re just so stable right now. Last year, everything was ‘Be the first team (to win a regional). Be the first team (to compete in the NCAA Championship),” Waite said. “Now it’s, ‘Let’s do it again.'”
The Aggies and the Badgers will face off at 7 p.m. The winner of the match will advance to the tournament semifinals Saturday night to play the winner of the Stanford vs. Utah match, being played Friday night in Palo Alto.